Where Did That Smile Come From?

By: Izzy Bonecutter

Finding happiness is one of the populations main ambitions. It is so vital to us
because from a young age we have been socialized to be "happy." It's so important that
we get satisfaction and pleasure out of what we undertake for our enjoyment. Happiness
in rave !ew "orld was contained and restrained. #he environment was controlled$ and
they stayed at a nutral emotion. #he soma kept them feeling happy$ along with se%ual
play. #hey found little things to bring them happiness. #hier happiness was un
comparable to a sadness$ so they never got the emotion and up rising and feeling
achievement and progression leading to happiness. #his is starting to be able to be
compaired to our world sadly. eing happy was so easy for the people in !"$ and now
we have so much in this world$ that we are able to get almost anything when we want
without working for it unfortunately. #his is causing damage. #o achieve happiness today$
we must be engaged in physical activity$ create healthy relationships with our families
and friends$ find meaning to create a stable place for happiness$ while making sure that
we are consuming happiness in a safe resourceful way for our environment.
&hysical activity has been one of my main sources of happiness since a young
age. #oday$ there is so much physical activity in our society. &rofessional or not$ many
poeple are focused on these activities to give them the thrill and satisfaction$ leading
them to happiness. 'opamine is a compound present in the body as a neurotransmitter
and a precursor of other substances including epinephrine. asically$ dopamine is what is
released when we find pleasure in something$ and gives us the feeling of "happiness."
#his is my (th year being on the )lpine *ki #eam. I joined this team because it gave me
pleasure and enjoyment. I know its the sensation I get of ski racing that makes my brain
connect with by body to realease dopamine. *kier )nne +hase states$ "I like skiing
because it takes my mind of of the things making me stressed$ and it makes me happy."
"hen doing physical activity$ we are all individualy concentrated on what we are doing$
therefore our minds are not focused on the negative things in life$ and physical activity
takes us over.
For the past ,--$--- years humans have roamed the earth all coming from a
family. family is what connects us. family is what makes us capable of collaborating and
e%perienceing the world around us. In the movie "Happy" a man e%plains how he feels
relief and pleasure when he comes home after work to his baby son. He feels a
connection and a relationship and therefore dopamine is released causing him to feel
happiness. I can relate to this in so many ways. I remember a time when I went to camp
/ed +loud for a week. I was completely separated from the people that I had the
strongest relationships with and it tore me apart. Feeling uncoordanated and disconnected
made me realize how happy these people in my life made me$ and how hard it was to live
without them. "e have been socialized to be close to these people who are important to
us$ and therefore family is a huge part of our happiness.
Finding meaning creates a stable place for happiness$ meaning is
important to our lifes. #o began$ I think it's important to make clear that there is a
difference between mechanics and life. *o much of our lifes are based on mechanics$ and
we dont think of the meaning of life. I always catch myself focusing on mechanics and
the economy$ and not so much life itself. "#here is meaning in life and the meaning that
society portrais isn't the meaning of life. 0ife is more comple%." 1Hailey /edding. #his
2uote meant alot to me$ because its so true. 3ur lives are so comple%$ and there is so
much meaning that we can find$ but all we focus on is the mechanic part fo life$ and what
we want. I always thought the meaning of life was to be the ritchest$ and the one who has
the most fun. I would always re1arrange my room$ and want more$ and more furniture$
well decor$ etc... I was never satisfied in the process because I could never find meaning.
3n page ,$ in the article$ "#here is 4ore to 0ife #han eing Happy$" the author states$
"0eading a happy life$ the phycologist found$ is associated with being a taker$ while
leading a meaningful life$ is associated with being a giver." #his 2uote I think shows
something really important. It said$ ") meanigful life is associated with being a giver$" I
think being a giver can create happiness$ therefore meaning plays a role in happiness.
+learly$ meaning portrais a big part of our lifes$ and it can feel good to find meaning$ but
once you find meaning$ it will feel even better to have the happiness you seeked through
meaning.
*adly$ a lot of the time$ we gain happiness at the e%pense of hurting and damaging
others and other living things. For an e%ample$ many huge industries today polute our
earth. 5verytime one of these products get produced that we use for our happiness$ we are
damaging our society and it's truley making a significant impact on our environment that
effect our health. #herefor$ we are harming other humans. 4any of us dont realize what
we are doing and the damage we are making so we keep producing and consuming. In
+hina they are having e%treme problems with deforestation$ electronic waste$ river
e%ploitation$ and industrial polution. #hese problems have caused many sicknesses and
deaths. #he air these people breathe are so e%treme that masks are worn to keep out the
heavy chemicals. It was found that industrial polutions were causing 6(-$--- to 7--$---
deaths a year in +hina. "e are causing this. "e are the desease. I think its important that
we realize the damage we can cause on our society for our own good. )s clearly stated$
we must recognize what we are causing$ and the effect we make on this earth for our
happiness.
"e need to create a society that values authentic happiness by helping others and
ourselves find meaning in what we are doing$ instead of making happiness easy to get
and there$ so that we dont start taking advantage of happiness. #his is important so we
can create a stable society that realises there needs to be cost for happiness and that its
not just there for us to take when we need it. "e can get more out of being happy if we
find meaning in it first. If I had to tell a friend how to find happiness tomorrow$ i would
tell them that they need to find something that challanges them but has a good outcome. I
think its important to work for your happiness. For e%ample$ they could go on a really
long bike ride$ and get to an amazing look out. #o conclude$ we must be engaged in
physical activity$ build healthy relationships with others$ find meaning to create a stable
society$ and be very cautious of our consuming and effects. )ll together we can create a
happy stable society that is caucious with good outcomes.